June 23, (THEWILL) – The Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2023 general elections, Dumebi Kachikwu, has denied reported claims of alleged tax fraud and evasion made against him.
An online media (not THEWILL) had reported that a US court had ordered the seizure of Kachikwu’s assets due to tax evasion.
The report further alleged that Kachikwu was not a first-time offender because he had previously been charged with fraud.
But Kachikwu, who denied the allegations, in statement, accused his political rivals of waging a smear campaign against him.
The statement read: “Yesterday, I was inundated with calls and messages over a libellous and defamatory publication by an online blog known as Peoples Gazette.
“The publication not only accused me of tax evasion, but also accused me of delivering cash bribes to former US Congressman. These are untrue. Here are the facts of the matter:
“A few days ago, my campaign team received information that one of the aspirants who lost out in the just concluded ADC presidential primary was planning a series of smear campaigns against me.”
Kachikwu however claimed that he was not startled by the revelation and that, in contrast to the information being spread, the US Inland Revenue Service had previously charged him an additional $9 million.
“This amount was reduced to $2million and when the IRS sued to collect the amount, my lawyers didn’t contest it and instead waited for a default judgement in order to go to the next stage which is making an offer in compromise to reduce the amount to be paid.
“This is a standard legal practice in tax matters. People’s Gazette also claimed I was not a first-time offender having been previously indicted in a fraud case in 2009. He claimed I had delivered a $100,000 cash bribe to curry the favour of the former US congressman.
“This is another lie as multiple evidence abounds online clearly showing I was the victim who reported the US congressman to the EFCC and the FBI for defrauding my company”, he added.
Kachikwu claimed that the “infamous blog’s” creator purposefully turned the truth on its head in order to accomplish a set goal.
He claimed that they actively spread the rumor through different media in a series of well-coordinated operations to harm and ruin his reputation.
“I have now instructed my lawyers to sue all digital media organisations who participated in the dissemination of this falsehood.
“They will also petition the police to arrest and prosecute all those who have breached the Cybercrime Act by using twitter to defame, harass and threaten me. I will no longer tolerate this persistent attacks from sore losers”, he said.
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